Sweetness in the Still
by lovelielove
Summary: Daisy took to wearing ear plugs in her room to get some peace, but everyone, everything seemed to be projecting their unique vibrations onto her. Sometimes the agents would harmonize, usually right before a big operation, so that they felt like an epic aria ringing in her bones. Other times their individual emotions created a discordant chiming that set her teeth on edge.


Sweetness in the Still - lovelielove

AN: I honestly can't believe I wrote and completed a one-shot in a couple of hours. I have for you here some kind of fluffy cotton candy of the non-lemony variety. Please enjoy and review if you like. Set somewhere between Season 2 and 3.

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The base wasn't quiet. It was just never, ever quiet. Daisy took to wearing ear plugs in her room to get some peace, but everyone, everything seemed to be projecting their unique vibrations onto her. Sometimes the agents would harmonize, usually right before a big operation, so that they felt like an epic aria ringing in her bones. Other times their individual emotions created a discordant chiming that set her teeth on edge. She tried drowning everything out by blaring her iPod and tried to dampen her powers with meditation, but nothing seemed to work.

At least at Afterlife there had been a sense of peace. Daisy's powers hadn't been fine tuned back then, but she remembered the quiet background buzz that turned out to be the other potential Inhumans.

Between her memories, the vibrations of the base, and the present day problems weighing on her mind she couldn't seem to find any peace and quiet.

Daisy slipped out of bed and glanced at the clock on her nightstand. 3:00 am. She rubbed her face in frustration and took out her earplugs. They didn't block anything but sound anyway.

She padded sleepily out the door and into the deserted hallway. There were a few agents in the common area discussing mission details. She nodded at them as she passed by in her pajamas, too cranky to be self-conscious.

Daisy didn't quite know where she was headed until she got there. She stood, a little lost, just inside the doorway of Coulson's dark office. She frowned when she realized it was empty, but she shut the door behind her anyway. This room felt better, familiar and comfortable with all of Coulson's collectibles and his mid century modern furniture. She shuffled to the record player and, after a moments hesitation, switched it on. She chose an album with a picture of a pixieish looking blond on the cover and placed the needle gently into the spinning record.

It was a slow jazzy number, the singer crooning a familiar song over quiet piano. For some reason, music from her iPod never felt as warm or tangible as it did from records. "... someone to watch over me..." she sang along softly.

"Blossom Dearie. Good choice."

She jumped and let out a little squeak. "Holy shit, Coulson."

"Sorry," he smirked, not looking at all sorry. He'd closed the door silently behind him and was backlit enough by the hall light shining through the windows that she could see his smug face. "Didn't mean to startle you while you were sneaking into _my_ office and perusing _my_ music collection."

"First of all, not sneaking, Director. Secondly, I'm getting you a bell." She yawned suddenly, and hid her face behind the too long sleeves of her SHIELD issue sweatshirt. "It's weird that you were able to sneak up on me though. Lately-" she yawned again.

"Lately, what?" He asked as he walked up beside her. Of course he was in his full suit, sans tie, with his prosthetic on and everything at 3 in the morning.

"It's nothing."

He gave her a look. "Obviously not, or you wouldn't have mentioned it."

"I've been-" she didn't know how to put it.

Coulson waited as she fiddled with her sleeve.

"I can't seem to block anything out when I'm tired."

He recalled a quiet conversation they'd had after Cal went through with the Tahiti procedure. The one where she opened up to him about her powers and the bittersweet joy/pain they brought her. "Vibrations keeping you awake?"

"Yeah," her shoulders slumped, glad he understood.

"I'm sorry. Maybe the music helps?" he suggested.

"Maybe." She glanced at the record player as it seamlessly moved to the next song.

She swayed gently to the slow melody when there was nothing else to say. She couldn't know how she looked, heavy lidded eyes under short, sleep tousled hair with bare shoulders in the soft, diffused hall lights. She was nothing short of breathtaking.

"Dance with me, Skye." The words were out of his mouth before he even knew he'd thought them. His voice has gone deep and quiet, intimate. Then- "Shit. _Daisy_. Daisy, dance with me."

Her eyes crinkled in a smile and she laughed softly. "What? I'd crush your toes!"

"Come on," he cajoled lightly. "You're not even wearing shoes."

She glanced around like she was doing something naughty and shrugged. "Why not?"

Coulson held up his hands, intent on a nice little spin around the room with an arms length between them, when he realized that he'd forgotten about his barely functioning fake hand. He froze with his limbs in mid air, the sudden reminder that things would never quite be the same jarring him yet again.

Just as one song ended, another slower, sweeter melody took its place. Without a word, she curled his right hand around her waist and held his left hand aloft, elbows in, so she was much, much closer than he'd intended. She looked up at him with such honest understanding and without a hint of pity that he couldn't help but tip his head forward to press his cheek to hers and hold her tighter to him as they started to sway to the music.

Then, there was a sudden halt to the cacophony of vibrations filling her head. There was nothing but sweet music in her ears, Coulson in her arms, and a warm hum that moved like honey through her veins. She sighed.

He held her a little more tightly and signaled his intentions with his prosthetic as gently as he could, inwardly rejoicing when it worked properly. He couldn't tie a tie, but he could lead a beautiful woman in a dance. He led them in gentle, swaying circles around the room until the music faded. When it stopped he brought her hand close and pressed his lips to her knuckles.

"Easy, charm school," she whispered with absolutely no conviction behind her words.

He just smiled at her. She couldn't help but smile back. When the next, slightly faster song came on with upbeat drums and horns he actually grinned and surprised her by spinning her out and away from him. She giggled loudly as he spun her back into his arms and started to show her some fancier footwork. They both laughed when she accidentally stomped on his shoe with her bare heel causing him to curse and stumble. In retaliation he spun her around a few times before dipping her low over his arm. She laughed so hard she started snorting and he nearly dropped her from his own case of the giggles. When he pulled her back up they were breathless, nose to nose, and grinning from ear to ear.

The office door slammed open and the lights switched on. "It is 3:30 in the morning," Hunter whined. "Do us a favor and romance each other at a decent hour, yeah?" There were grumbles of agreement from behind him that had Daisy blushing, but Coulson merely issued an apology and sent everyone away with a smile still on his face.

Coulson walked to the record player and switched it off, placing the album gently back in its sleeve. Daisy stayed where he'd left her, standing in the middle of the office floor biting her lip in uncharacteristic uncertainty. This was too big, too important to make assumptions. She fidgeted until he turned around and held out his hand to her as if he knew what she was thinking. "What do you feel from me?"

He wondered.

She closed her eyes. It wasn't hard at all to filter him out from all the noise of everything else. When she looked up at him again her eyes were shining. "You love me."

He huffed a laugh as if it was the most obvious thing in the world. "I do. Anything else?" He brought his other hand up to the brush her hair from her cheek while she thought.

"You adore me. You're proud of me. You think I'm awesome."

Coulson smiled sheepishly. "You can feel all that from my vibrations?"

"No. Well, sort of. I guessed and you just confirmed it."

"Sneaky," he laughed.

"You love me," she replied smugly.

"And you, Daisy? I don't have your gifts. You need to tell me what you feel. I don't want to make assumptions."

She shook her head in disbelief that he could echo her thoughts so exactly. "I think that you are...," she wanted to get the words right. "You scare me." He blanched. Damn it. "You make me afraid that I'll never be good enough," she rushed on and saw his confusion. "You're the best person I've ever met, Coulson. How can someone so amazingly good want to be with someone like me?"

"Jesus, Skye. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me. How can you- _Daisy_. Damnit. _Daisy_. Daisy, I'm in love with you."

She grinned at him. "I love you, too."

He grinned back at her like he couldn't keep his smile contained even if he wanted to and the joy radiating off of him resonated so perfectly with the glowing feeling inside of her chest that it left her breathless. "I'll get it right, I swear."

"I don't mind," she shook her head. And suddenly she was kissing him, or he was kissing her. It didn't really matter.

All that mattered was that he loved her, that she loved him, and that she couldn't feel a thing outside of his lips on hers and that warm, honeyed happiness that resonated between them like a peaceful, quiet love song on repeat.

Everything else faded away.

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Music:

Blossom Dearie

Someone To Watch Over Me

Now At Last

I Wish You Love

Reviews = happiness


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